


(That Nobody, But Nobody) Can make it out here alone

by captainpiecemaker (pi_ponderer)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: A tiny bit of jasico, Angst, College AU, Fluff, In the start, M/M, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, This is me jumping on the college au bandwagon, because why the hell not, like really slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-06-08 14:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6859264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pi_ponderer/pseuds/captainpiecemaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A wise woman once said that the path of least resistance is the happiest, because even current in a circuit, you see, follows the path offering least resistance.  But do you always have choice?<br/>Will Solace is a nineteen year old college student forced to take the thorny road towards healing. How long can he stand at the start of the road refusing to move ahead because the pain in his chest was proof that his brother had existed and he couldn't and wouldn't at any cost lose that.</p><p>Multi chapter college au wrapped around the prompt "I really like you, but you're my friend's ex"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Poetic Benginnings

**Author's Note:**

> The first three chapters of this work are an intro to the rest.  
> "All the world's a stage  
> And all the men and women merely players"  
> ~Shakespear

There was poetry, Will thought, in every milestone conquered, a sunrise, a sunset. There was poetry, good or bad, bland or exhilarating, in beginnings and endings.

  
We were simply pawns placed in the hands of the masterminds of the universe. We were ink guided to form blotted words on a parchment.

Will didn't believe in a god. He didn't believe in a Jesus, or Allah, or Zeus. He didn't believe that there was something up there protecting them from bad choices and bad people, but he did believe in poetry.

Poetry of the universe. He believed that everything that happens, happens for a reason. That nothing is a coincidence, but a consequence of ones millions of actions.

Very similar to what the Neo-Darwinian theory of evolution had said. Mutations and variations stack up generation after generation before weaving their way through our genes, finally expressing themselves as phenotypically different organisms.

Evolution was the result of the accumulation of years and years of genetic diversity and variation just as our Fate was the result of our choices.

  
So when Will Solace arrived in Athens on a plane from Los Angeles, a scholarship for one of the greatest universities in Greece in hand for a course in medicine he expected his arrival, his new beginning, to be...well..a bit more.. _poetic_?

  
He would breathe in the fresh air, step into the land of Ancient Greek Mythology and tread a path to his destination on a road were heroes once walked.  
Instead the first thing he does is step on a pile of dog excreta.

  
Pretty poetic shit huh? (Get it? Nah)  
Will swore and shook his leg in a attempt to shake off the dog shit from his shoe. Just in that perfect moment, his phone rang. It was Jason.

  
"Hey dude. Did you get in alright?"

  
" Um yeah. I just got in, I'm at the airport What was the name of the guy who was going to pick me up again?"

  
"His name's Nico di Angelo. He is probably a bit taller than you. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Dark clothes. Basically he's a walking talking punk rock artist."

  
Jason's description didn't put him at ease. Not to get him wrong, Will Solace had always been good at socializing. Good at making friends. He was loud and the life of the party. But that came naturally with familiarity, on the other hand when it came to meeting new people, he had irrational nerves and an itch under his skin that would never go away. His cool and calm exterior never gave anything away but he hated his heart for throbbing away in his chest for no reason whatsoever.

"Woah. Really? Wait isn't Nico di Angelo the name of the guy you're dating."

  
Jason laughed. "Bingo. You're the world's most horrid friend. I've been dating him for months now"

  
"Not my fault I was out of the loop for a while." Will said a little bitterly.

  
An awkward silence fell over them, while Will struggled against a rock to rub off what was remaining of the dog shit off his shoe.  
"...Will I'm so sorry about what happened with your brother. I shouldn't have said that." Jason said quietly.

Not that he owed him an apology. Jason had done his best to support him all the way from Athens. But Will had effectively blocked him off. Jason had been so understanding about that too. The only people he had let in were his friends Lou and Cecil, his cousins Kayla and Austin and of course his mother, Naomi Solace. And it was only because they were actually there in person that their voices had reached him, if at all.

A faceless voice (no matter how familiar) through his phone telling him it was going to be okay was not very comforting. And that had in no way been Jason Grace's fault. He had tried his best and Will had cut him off for months. Until he had snapped out off it and realised that he needed a scholarship to get into a college, most of his mother's savings had gone to pay off the hospital bills. When Jason had heard he had informed Will about the entrance test conducted by the _University Of Athens_ and that there still were openings if he was interested. He had managed to only just pass the cut off for a scholarship and voila here he was a few months later in Athens scrubbing dog shit off his shoe outside the airport.

His mother would be proud.

Well, his mother had been proud (not about the dog shit part). Both him and Kayla has gotten in. Kayla was to join him in a week. But for now he would have to navigate the city alone. Jason hadn't been able to make it and now Will was stuck searching for a stranger between hoards of tourists.

  
"It's not your fault Jay. Really. Don't sweat it. I'll see you soon I guess. We have loads to catch up upon, yeah?" He said softly, scanning the crowds for Jason's _punk rock_ boyfriend.

  
"Yeah see you soon bro. Bye"

  
Will stuffed the phone in his pocket and pulled his jacket around him. It wasn't that cold. Some people would walk around with tank tops and shorts in this weather. But Will had always been intolerant towards the cold. He had a love-hate relationship with winter. He loved snuggling up in warm blankets and hot chocolate but having a bath in those snowy months was torture. To be fair it was night time and there was a chilly breeze blowing. Also his jacket made him feel just a little bit more secure, although he was quite sure that wrapping his jacket around himself wasn't going to save him from getting mugged or murdered. 

"Great start Will. Way to stay positive" he muttered to himself.

He had forgotten to ask Jason the plate number or even the type of vehicle this ' _Nico_ ' was bringing. He sped up his step taking out his phone with his free hand, lugging his heavy as fuck suitcase behind him when he bumped head on with somebody.

  
His phone dropped with a bang and the stranger fell on their butt. He let out a string of curses that would have made Captain Haddock blush.

  
The woman he had successfully managed to topple over sneered at him menacingly. If he were to say she wasn't intimidating in the least, he would be lying.

Her form could be described as beefy and muscular(he was pretty sure she was part bull). Her wispy brown hair was tied up in a camouflage bandana which matched her jacket and boots. She had a broad face and watery pig like eyes which were set on her face in a way that made it seem like she had a permanent scowl. But that could also be because she was mad right now (for some inexplicable reason).

How he had managed to topple over this female John Cena look alike was beyond his understanding. He was guessing it was because he had more momentum.

 _Yeah, science was great_ he thought as Josephina cena grabbed his collar between her beefy hands and banged him against the nearest wall.

  
"You had better looked where you're going punk" she growled at him.

Ok Will was scared. Maybe terrified would be a more appropriate word, but he wasn't somebody who could be intimidated so easily. He was quite taller than her even if he wasn't as muscular and buff. Hell he had been on the captain of his basketball team and had till date not encountered a player this..buffed up.

  
"You are the one who banged into me lady!" Will wasn't very sure that 'lady' was the appropriate word to use here.

"Let go of me right now!" He put as much weight as possible in his words when he gave her that order, but he was pretty much sure the last syllable came out as a squeak.

  
"Clarisse! That's enough! Put him down." A smooth voice came from Will's right. He glanced over Clarisse's fist to see the most handsome man he had ever encountered his entire life.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating (I mean who could beat Will Smith to be honest), but to say this guy was attractive was most definitely an understatement. He had messy dark hair and equally dark eyes. He had a bomber jacket over a Ramones' tee (bonus points for musical taste) and black faded jeans. His eyes swam with something between amusement and annoyance, almost like he had to deal with this everyday.

  
"Are you Will Solace?" He said "Friend of Jason Grace? Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall and cute. The description matches."

  
Will blushed "Yeah. And you're Nico di Angelo? Punk rock boyfriend?"

  
The amused expression never left his face. "Is that how he chose to describe me." Nico said more to himself than Will.

  
" Clarisse please throttle him later on. We have to get him back in one piece." He demanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. Clarisse begrudgingly let go of his collar for which Will was extremely thankful. He gave Nico a grateful smile, which he by no means returned.  
Clarisse bumped his shoulder violently as she stomped ahead, out of sight.

  
"I'm sorry about her." He didn't sound sorry at all. "Let's get you to the dorms. Do you need help?"

  
Yeah that's exactly what Will needed, his pride reduced to dust and then stomped on too, on the first day of his arrival nonetheless.

He frowned at Nico.

"Thanks but I can carry my own luggage." He managed as politely as possible. He was not that weak.

  
Nico shrugged and and walked in the direction Clarisse had lumbered off earlier. He wondered how many heads she would have chewed off by the time they reached her.

Will adjusted his galaxy backpack (he was a space nerd) and followed Nico.

  
"So you're Jason's childhood buddy?" Nico asked twirling the car keys with ease.

  
"More like high school buddy I guess. I met both him and Leo in high school. You guys are dating?"  
Nico nodded his head in response eyeing him with those sharp mysterious eyes of his. Will felt like he was being interrogated.

  
"Which college do you attend?" Seemed like an appropriate question. Safe. No crossing any boundaries. Not with this guy.

  
"Same as you, University of Athens. I'm a business major" Woah, sophisticated. "What about you?"

  
"Pre-med"  
He raised one eyebrow at him but didn't say anything.

  
"Here we are. Get in."

  
The car seemed pretty beat up. It was a hand me down said Nico, the least his dad could do. Will didn't go to pry. He didn't want both Ms. Wrestler and Mr. Punk rock boyfriend on his bad side.

  
Will wasn't very pleased when he was forced to sit in the backseat next to Clarisse who glared at him throughout the ride , for well, breathing.

  
He shied a glance from the backseat at Nico as he drove, his focus completely on the rode. He seemed like a very private person. And the polar opposite of Jason. He wonder how that worked out. Hey, never judge a book by it's cover. The dynamic could work very well for all he knew.

  
They dropped off Clarisse at the girl's dorm. She left saying her goodbyes, not before adding asswipe to Will's. Will rolled his eyes, perhaps she wasn't as bad as she seemed. He still breathed a sigh of relief though, which didn't go unnoticed by Nico who chuckled at Will's expense. Once she was gone, Will asked Nico why had she come along. Apparently she had wanted to drop off her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez and had tagged along.

  
Nico helped Will with his bags even though he insisted he could do it (talk about chivalry). Will was too tired to protest, so he proceeded to throw his pride out of the window. Which window you ask? The window of _manlihood_ apparently.

  
Their hands had brushed and Will had felt electricity course through his veins. He must have looked pretty shocked (ha ha get it. No?), so had Nico but he had recovered sooner. He just snorted at him and walked off.

"What's your room number?" Nico asked as they got into the elevator.

"Room 312" Will responded double checking his phone for the details.

"What!" Nico exclaimed "Seriously? I knew you were on the same floor as me. But- oh well"

  
When Will looked at him in confusion Nico scowled at him.

  
"Welcome to the University of Athens, roomie"

  
"Oh" _Oh._

  
_Great. This is just great._


	2. Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dreaming is still how the strong survive ~"

Will was quite pleased to say his first night in Athens had been pleasant enough (if you left out the dog poop and Josephina cena).

His roommates weren't half as bad. Nico di Angelo seemed cold and unconcerned by appearance but was surprisingly helpful throughout. He hadn't even cut down Will when he had annoyingly badgered him with a million questions (if you could count occasionally grunting a response, oh well.)

Will had found himself strangely intrigued with the grumpy Italian. He had a mean scowl and strong magnetic eyes, which were a soft brown, not black like Will had earlier thought. He carried himself with an air of confidence and regality, and it had Will wondering whether he had an aristocratic background.

When Nico had thrown his head back and laughed at one of Will's stupid puns, he had understood what Jason saw in this guy.He immediately cut down all line of thought in that direction.

His second roommate turned out to be a buff Asian guy named Frank Zhang, who was from Canada. He had the build of a wrestler with a chubby face that didn't quite go with his body.

He shook hands with Will, his small eyes twinkling with a certain child like kindness. He was dating Hazel Levesque, Nico's half sister who went to college in Albania. Will noticed Nico visibly cringed when Frank mentioned Albania.

After a wholesome dinner of leftover pizza and microwaved Mac and cheese they bid each other a good night and proceeded to their respective rooms. The rooms were quite small, which was fine with him as he  hadn't expected separate rooms in the first place. 

His phone rang and he checked the caller ID. It was his mom.

"Hey mom." He sighed. He had had a long day and just wanted to sleep, he would fill her in the next day.

  
"Hey honey, did you get in okay? Where are you? What did you have for dinner ?"

"I'm at the dormitories. I got in just fine. I had leftover pizza and pasta. Jason had his boyfriend pick me up. He was with a friend." Will narrated his meeting with the two leaving out the explicit details of how he literally bumped into Clarisse and the epic glare off that had followed in the car.

  
"Did he now. That's real sweet of his boyfriend. What's his name?"

  
"Nico di Angelo. Turns out he's also my room mate."

  
"Is he Italian. Is that why you had pizza? Honey you just can't have pizza everyday"

  
"I don't think Italians have pizza everyday. That's what American teenagers do."

  
"You're an American teenager-"

  
"I'm half Greek-"

  
"Never mind that. You have only one roommate?"

  
"No. The other one is Frank Zhang, he's Canadian."

  
"Zhang. So he's chinky. Does that mean you're going to be having Chinese too? Everyday? Honey that's not-"

  
"Mom! Stop that immediately. You absolutely cannot call a person chinky. It's racist." Will exclaimed.

  
"But he is chinky isn't he"

  
Will sighed and then yawned. He was fighting a losing battle. His mom had absolutely no tact.  
"It doesnt matter ma."

  
"Hm~ true. Anyways did you unpack yet?

  
"No not yet. Mom listen. I'm like really tired and jet lagged. Can I call you tomorrow? Please?"

  
"Ah..yeah of course. Be sure to unpack and organise everything as soon as possible. Sleep well baby. Good night."

  
"You too mom. Love you"

  
"Love you too"  
The phone clicked. He didn't even bother changing into his pajamas, he was off the momen his head hit the pillow.

* * *

 

That night Will dreamt of sterile hospital walls, the smell of antiseptic and cries of pain. His feet floated on spotlessly clean tiles guiding him through an endless corridor. At the end of the corridor his brother lay on a hospital bed moaning in pain.

  
_Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia_

  
The words rang in his head.

  
_We're so sorry._  
_We're so sorry Mrs. Solace._

  
His mother stood beside his brother along with his cousins and aunt. They stared at him blankly. He ran trying to reach his family, but the corridor kept extending with each step he took. His brother was gasping now. He struggled, renewed his effort and stumbled face first. Something was pulling him back and he just couldn't get up. He tried crawling towards the hospital bed but it seemed just as far as before.

  
_Three months._  
_He has three months at the most._

  
"NO MICHAEL! YOU CAN'T LEAVE US! NOT NOW, NOT LIKE THIS-"  
He screamed and screamed but no one seemed to hear. Even he couldn't hear himself.

  
_Your time is up._

  
His eyes snapped open at the sound of thunder. His mouth was open, his eyes unfocused, the only thing he could he could make out was the rain rattling his window.

 _Breathe in, breath out_ he reminded himself.

He had read somewhere that the world was loud and that more than often the voices of our head and heart died amongst the noise of the universe. _Never let the world steal your voice_ the author had said. Today he found himself wishing to drown in that very noise, lose the fight and give in. The voices in his head were not worth this shit.

  
Slowly he shifted on the creaky bed and got up, rubbing his palm over his eyes. There were no tears, but he sure as hell felt like crying. He checked his watch. It was five in the morning. In his exhaustion the bed had seemed comfortable enough. But he was fully rested now and it dawned upon him that his judgement may have been a bit clouded. He walked up to the window, it was still pretty dark outside but there was a faint icy blue line over the horizon.

He rubbed his eyes once again and walked up to his suitcase to find his glasses after fumbling for a straight minute to find the light switch.  
He blinked a few times to clear his vision, licking his dry lips. Boy did he need some water. He fumbled his way to the kitchen in his morning haze hoping to not wake anyone up.

  
To his shock he found Nico do Angelo standing in the kitchen his back turned to Will, talking on the phone.

  
"...Jace try to understand. We've had this conversation before..." He ran his hand through his messy bangs.

  
"Your sister hates me!" He hissed angrily. Will jumped. "Why will your family.."

  
"Oh so it's my fault now. Yeah I don't like her either. I'm not fucking obligated to like her because she is your sister." He turned around and froze when he saw Will.  
"Dammit Jason" he said scowling at Will questioning him silently, his eyes fuming.

Jason must have said something because Nico's eyes grew soft. "...fine I'll do it for you. Of course..yeah...yeah..you too." He detached the phone from his ear and raised an eyebrow in Will's direction.

  
"I-I'm..water...I didn't mean to..uh..sorry?" Will must have seemed very distressed because Nico simply sighed and waved a hand dismissively.

  
"It's ok. Why are you up so early?" He asked pocketing his phone in the pocket of his skull patterned pajamas. His dark hair seemed even more tousled than usual, but his scowl was less intense.

  
"I needed a drink." Will said simply straightening his glasses.

  
"Fridge" he said nodding his head towards the small navy blue refrigerator in the corner of the kitchen. "I made coffee. Would you like some?"

  
"Uh no thanks. I don't drink coffee"  
Nico muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'weirdo'.

  
The both of them sat quietly at the dining table, Will cradling a cup of warm water in his hand.

  
"You are actually drinking hot water. Just hot water. Is it a pre med thing. To be disgustingly healthy?" Nico said his own cup of hot coffee resting in his hand.

  
Will chuckled. "Coffee makes my mouth sticky and sour. I like the taste but not the after taste. Besides coffee seems to have no effect whatsoever on me"

  
"Maybe your body is malfunctioning"

  
"Maybe I'm a robot"

  
Nico rolled his eyes at him. "Dork"

  
_Cute_.

  
He wondered whether in any universe it was a normal thing to admire somebody's aesthetic beauty, especially if the said somebody is your high school buddy's boyfriend. He figured that most people would tell you that that's not healthy. Or normal. And they would be right. But Will thought it was fine as long as he kept it to himself.

  
His mom years ago would have said liking boys wasn't normal either. Her mind had broadened with time as representation for queer folk increased on all platforms of media. She was at that point where it was normal for other kids to be queer but God forbid her own turned out that way.

She had known about Jason since high school. It had been a shock to her when he brought home a boy to dinner and an even bigger shock when the next time he brought home a girl.

Leo, Kayla and Will had had a hearty laugh while Austin and his Aunt May chided them. His Aunt unlike his mom had grown up in a city and understood the concept of varying sexualities in a way his mother never would. He would never admit it but he was jealous of the confidence in which Jason carried himself.

  
He had never summoned up the courage to tell his mother that he could never look at a girl the way his neighbour Cecil did, or the way Jason and Austin did. That he loved women, but not in the way his mom thought he did. He loved his mother's soft hugs, Kayla's sweet voice when she sang and her long ginger hair that she had dyed a shocking green just last summer. He loved it when his first girlfriend's long graceful fingers brushed through his blonde curls, but it was not her lips he dreamt of kissing that night.

Will and Nico sat in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before Will had to ruin it by opening his big fat mouth.

  
"If you don't mind me asking-"

  
"I do"

  
Will strained a look at him. He wasn't looking at Will, his gaze locked on the cup in his hands. He looked troubled, but it was none of Will's business. He understood that. He respected that.

  
"That's fine" he smiled when Nico's eyes shot up to look at him. He couldn't hold his gaze for long and looked out of the window. The storm had subsided quite a bit.

  
"You're his friend. How can you ask me that honestly. How do I know you won't just go and blab to him or something?" He was looking at Will with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

Will shrugged. "Yeah he is. But we're roommates too. Destined to be friends,I guess, since we will be living in such close quarters" he grinned cheekily at Nico's snort.

  
"Or it could end in murder"

  
"Yeah that too."

  
And then they were laughing softly (Frank was still asleep). Falling into conversation was easy after that.

* * *

 

College was not starting in two weeks but the library was open for people like Will who had joined late and had missed an entire semester. Him and Kayla had dedicated two weeks after the confirmation of their scholarship to catching up on the classes they had missed.

  
Jason had joined him in one of his evening study sessions as he and Leo were finally back from a visit home. He had wanted to give Will the official tour.  
Afterwards they made their way back to Jason's while Jason showed him around the campus. The only thing that had changed about him since high school were the glasses. Will had glasses too, as did Leo (most kids these days had glasses tbh), but he preferred contacts while for Jason the glasses were more of a permanent thing.

  
If you simply used words to describe the both of them to a blind man he would mistake them for twins. Tall stature, blonde hair, blue eyes. But words were deceptive, just as descriptions were. The both them were tall, but Jason was just a bit taller. He had platinum blonde hair that was usually up in a neat quiff as opposed to Will's which was warmer and brighter and framed his face messily in wavy curls. Jason's electric blue eyes made it seem like the entirety of a thunderstorm had been condensed in his irises while Will's eyes were a much softer lighter greyish blue colour.

  
It didn't take Will long to start chattering about mundane things carefully avoiding the obvious elephant in the room. He wasn't ready to talk to Jason about Michael. He didn't think he would ever be. But it was difficult to tell stories that his brother had most definitely been a part of without actually mentioning him to a person who knew Michael personally. The wound was fresh and he didn't think he could say his name without letting it blister.

  
"- and then she actually went and dyed her hair green. Bright green!"

  
"Oh my god! Really?"

  
"Yeah dude she'll be here in a week. You're in for a shock. Not that it looks bad or anything. She's one of those people. The ones who can dye their hair any colour and still look good." He said chuckling at the memory.

It's true though, the green weirdly complimented her bright green eyes and made her look like a dryad from Greek mythology. She had it in a shoulder length bob now which made her look more child like than usual.

  
"So have you in settled in properly. I hope Nico isn't mentally torturing you or anything" Jason smacked his hand on Will's shoulder propelling him a few inches forward.

  
"Dude what the hell." He scowled at the blonde. "No mental torture I assure you. Far from it. I don't think I could have asked for better roommates. They're really accommodating " Will said truthfully.

  
Jason laughed. "Well yeah, Frank's cool. And Nico..he's seems all intimidating and all but he's a sweetheart."

  
Will smiled. "How cute Jason."

Jason flipped him off.

  
Jason shared room with none other than Leo Valdez who didn't wait two seconds before completely hijacking Will's personal space in a bear hug. It was a mystery as to how someone who had such skinny arms could give anyone a bear hug. Not much had changed about him either, he was still scrawny as ever, if taller.  
He smoothed his hands over his brown curls which were in a catastrophic mess before grinning at Will

"I've missed you mi amigo. How have you been?"

  
Will rolled his eyes as Leo tried to get him interested in all the crap he had been tinkering. To be fair what Leo made was never crap. But it didn't make any difference to Will. He had never been a big fan of mechanics.

  
Will nearly tripped on all the things Leo was working on. He couldn't make head or tail of what was going on.

  
"I ignore it. Helps loads." Jason hollered from the living room where he was setting up the play station.

  
Will turned to Leo.  
"I don't think you're legally allowed to do that mate"

  
"Bah technicalities"

  
"ITS BED TIME SUCKERS" boomed a deep male voice.

  
Leo had somehow managed to turn(ruin) their coffee table into a talking mod by attaching remote controlled wheels and an elaborate speech system which repeated the words it had been programmed to bellow in a cycle.

  
Every now and then it yelled "KEEP YOUR PANTS ON VALDEZ" in a booming voice that surprisingly reminded Will of their eight grade gym nightmare, Coach Hedge.

  
"Leo I'm serious, are you sure-"

  
"See I'm not inventing new stuff. I'm just improving it." He said his hand up in a mock defensive manner and a cheeky grin on his face." Besides all my major work is in the lab. I know the rules amigo. Dont worry your head off about this."

  
Then just when Will thought he had witnessed enough on-campus rule breaking in one day Leo pulled out a couple of beers from the mini fridge.

  
"Leo!"

  
"I can assure you-"

  
"I _read_ the rule book. Alcohol is at no cost allowed in the dorms."

  
"Bah technicalities."

  
Honestly Will was fine with a little rule breaking. He had never been that rigid but what was bothering him was the lack of response from Jason. Jason in high school had been the biggest wet blanket of the century when it came to fun involving rule breaking of any kind.

His step mom hadn't been very interested in raising a son that was not her own, his father was never really home. He had mostly been brought up by his Aunt Lupa who had been in the army.

She was a strong law abiding women and had trained her nephew to be just the same. He must have noticed the look on Will's face because he was having a hearty laugh in the corner.

"We are not so goddam frivolous usually" he levelled his gaze at Leo. It reminded Will of a weak version of the wolf stare, (another trait he had inherited from his aunt) he so often used on Leo whenever he got on to his Tom foolery. "But I think it's fine to have a bit of fun occasionally. Don't look at me like that Will. It's college man. And you have finally arrived here. I think that calls for a little celebration." He said shrugging at Will.

  
"That's right. Now who's up for some Last of Us. I'm going first." Leo said handing out the beers."I'm going to kick all of your asses."

  
Three beers in and Leo had still not managed to get past the bloater in the school gymnasium, while Will had done it in the first attempt. Now he was gloating on the Coach as Leo struggled a fourth time. Jason was conveniently refraining from participation because frankly speaking, he sucked. Instead he was furiously messaging someone. Will assumed it was di angelo.

  
"Who are you texting?"

  
Jason shot him a look. He was a light when it came to alcohol and was most definitely drunk. "Your roommate. My boyfriend. The most annoying person on this planet."

  
"Oh of course. My bad."

  
Will took another swig of his beer. "How did you two meet?"

  
Half an hour down the line Will regretted asking that question. He didn't need to know the details of Jason's love life. He didn't need to know that they had met at a freshers party and things escalated from there. He didn't need to know the itty bitty details of their dates. He didn't need to know that Jason had invited a very reluctant Nico for dinner. But Jason's drunk ass didn't seem bothered about making anyone uncomfortable.

  
"Um no offence. But are you sure about that?" Will knew Jason's family. His sister Thalia and his Aunt could pass of as nice if not provoked. But his dad and Juno ? That was a different story.

  
"We have to take the next step. I feel like it's going nowhere. Our relationship."  
Jason slurred. " I mean I'm happy. Just..I want something more."

  
"Jace it's been a few months is what you said. Don't you think it's a bit too early for that"

  
"Jason's too fucking impatient." Leo said stabbing the controller in frustration. "You're gonna drive him away boyo"

  
"Fuck you Valdez. Get past that bloater and then give me relationship advice."

  
"Touché"

  
When Leo was finally able to get past the bloater only to be killed by a clicker he decided to call it a night. "That's it. I'm done. Fuck this shit"

  
Jason had fallen asleep on the couch and Will was trying to look less drunk so that he could make his way down to his floor without incident. Afterwards when he had collapsed on the bed, squeaky clean from a shower and considerably less drunk he didn't want to go to sleep. But he was so tired and seeing Jason and Leo again made him feel more secure, more tethered. He had flown across an ocean to be here and the last thing he had expected was familiarity and it was that feeling of safety which pulled him under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kayla's green hair~new fave


	3. Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Standing on the cliff face  
> Highest fall you'll ever grace  
> It scares me half to death  
> .  
> .  
> Your hands protect the flames  
> From the wild winds around you  
> Icarus is flying too close to the sun  
> And Icarus's life, it has only just begun  
> And this is how it feels to take a fall  
> Icarus is flying towards an early grave"
> 
> ~Icarus, Bastille

 

When Will was a young boy he used to get picked on a lot. He remembered a friend he used to have when he was five. He used to play with her in the evenings. She used to bully him too,but Will was used to taking it in silence. He always forgave her and always went back to her because he used to feel lonely and was desperate for friendship of any kind. She was a fearless girl, some would say reckless.

Her mother used to allow her, a six year old, to go cycling outside the compound and on the road when Will was not even allowed out of his mother's sight. Soon they left the place and she became another faceless friend he had had once upon a time. He would never have recognized her if she had stood next to him on the street. He wouldn't have recognized her if somebody showed him a photo with her name scrawled in the bottom. But today her face was etched into his brain and he would never forget her name or her smile.

Her name was Melanie and she was only seventeen when she fell to her death from the twenty second floor of her new home.

She was a stranger to him, courtesy of time. But even though he didn't know her well her death haunted him. Maybe it was because she was young. As cold as that sounded it was something Will found comforting. When old women and men pass away we know that they've lived as much of their life as they could. Will's mother told him that it was family tradition for certain tribes to bid their old loved ones farewell on a happy note. People celebrate a life well lived.

But when the young die the tribe mourned their death. It was not because their life was worth more than those who had aged but because when life was snatched away much too early, it wasn't just the person that died but also the family that had once rested on the shoulders of the young.

  
It took him a while to realize that it had never been her death that haunted him (People, young and old, died everyday.), but the cause.

He had barely known her and yet he had spent nights wondering about her fall. Whether she had been scared. What were her last thoughts? Did she know she was going to die when she woke up that morning? The heavily scratched side of her body implied that she had struggled to hold on to the ledge. Had she screamed, had her parents not heard? Do they think about that still? Does it eat them up? The what ifs they would always have. That maybe if they had hear her screams, their daughter could have been alive today. Did they wake up to a normal day, only to find her room empty and the window open?  
Had they hoped for the best when they ran down the stairs, too desperate to take the elevator? Would they dream of her mangled body they could barely recognize for the rest of their lives?

  
He had felt a sense of hopelessness seep into his skin for days that made him want to drop everything. It was this fear that no matter what you did nothing is in your hands. You could die tomorrow. It doesn't matter if you're a child an adult or an old man. Everyone was at the mercy of fate and it scared him thinking that that was all her family would feel for a long time, maybe forever.

  
How can you ever replace the void of a loved one you've lost. He understood now, is that you don't. Life goes on. People get busy in the hum of life. The noise drowns the pain that screams in your heart and your head and that is just fine. You aren't insulting the people you have lost, Will reasoned, when such thoughts came to him. You just coped.

The first thing you forget about someone is their voice. When they had realized that there was no saving Michael, a silent understanding that had passed between all of them, Will had made sure to secretly record their conversations when they played board games or when they argued about mundane irrelevant things. Everything had seemed irrelevant to Will other than his brother at that point. He had insisted that Michael send him voice messages when they were away from each other because it would be 'fun'. Michael was a smart man . And he had been so so brave towards the end. He must have known, oh, he must have known, but he never said anything. The morning Michael had passed away Will locked himself up in his room and had played all the audio he had collected over the months pretending that his brother was still alive. That everything was okay because Will would never forget his voice.

  
It would be ok as long as he remembered. He had been collecting bits and pieces of what made Michael, Michael , struggling to keep the shape of the person that was once alive intact. But it didn't take Will long to realize that there was no way he could recreate what his brother had brought into his life and that all he had left were the memories. And everything else was void.

* * *

 

 

It had been one week since he had arrived in Athens. Nico and Jason had left for the weekend, albeit reluctantly. Jason had been nervous and Nico jumpy. Frank had stayed back. A few times he greeted Nico's half sister Hazel when she was on Skype with either her brother or Frank. She looked nothing like Nico with her dark skin and golden eyes. Her cinnamon hair was a mess of tight curls and she seemed a lot more friendlier than Nico. They made a good couple, Frank and she.

Kayla arrived at dawn two days later. Will didn't have the guts to drive Nico's old beat up _'everyone in the dorm can use'_ car, so he had booked a taxi to pick up Kayla. She looked radiant as ever, her green hair in a messy bun, wearing a captain America tee over ripped jeans. She was lugging her two large colorful suitcases down the stairs. Looking at her was like a blast of color. When he reached her she hugged him in greeting. Will tried offering his services but was rejected in an instance.

  
"Its just been a week. Don't get sappy on me. No I do not need any help. Maybe a little. But let's get to the taxi first."

  
"Why the hell do you need so much luggage. What is wrong with you?" Will exclaimed. He knocked her forehead a few times before she slapped his hand away. He quickly pulled the suitcase she left out of her reach and ran in the direction of the taxi.

  
"Hey!" Kayla didn't put up much of a fight after that because it was a hot day and she could be spared the effort.

  
"You've been studying right?" Kayla asked asked as she checked out the view through the cab window.

  
"I am done with the portion. I have just a chapter in organic chemistry that's left"

  
She hummed in approval."Auntie told me about your roomies. Are they nice? One of them is Jason's boyfriend?"

  
"Yeah they're cool. Jason's boyfriend is the Italian one, Nico do Angelo. The other fellow is Canadian, Frank Zhang."

  
"I hope mine are too"

  
She hummed again and Will noticed that she was half asleep, her cheek against the window.

__

* * *

  
After they had gotten past the scary R.A in the girls dormitory ("No he is not my boyfriend. He. Is. My. Brother. What do you want me to do. Paint his hair _green_?") and Kayla had felt settled enough, Will walked his way back to his dorm which was just one kilometer away from the girl's dorm on the campus. He picked up his bag and left for the college library.

When Will got home Frank wasn't there. He had left a note for him on the fridge telling him that he had gone out with a few friends. Talk about considerate roommates. He hoped Kayla's were good to her. There was a red haired girl with frizzy hair and paint all over her jeans and face, named Rachel. She seemed nice enough, if wacky. The second one was a brunette named Lou Ellen who was too immersed in her music to even care about new arrivals. He made a mental note to leave a message when he left for someplace the next time.

  
It was raining outside again. By the time Will had poured some orange juice for himself and settled down, the doorbell rang. Will cursed as he got up from his comfortable position on the couch. He figured it was Frank who had forgotten his wallet or an umbrella. There was a good chance that he had left just when Will had arrived. He hadn't expected a rain drenched scowling Italian.

  
"Nico? Weren't you supposed to be back on Monday?" He said motioning for Nico to wait. He figured that dinner hadn't gone to plan."Let me get some towels. You're going to drip all over the floor."

  
"Tell me about it. I knew this was going to be a disaster." He nearly growled as he tapped his foot impatiently.

  
"What happened?" He said as he handed out two fluffy white towels.

  
"None of your goddam business William" he snapped as he aggressively wiped his hair dry.

  
"It's Will I assure you." He said crossing his arms. He was concerned about the violence with which Nico was toweling himself dry.

  
"We broke up. That's what happened." He mumbled something under his breath which Will didn't catch. "Asshole."

  
Then he stalked his way to his room before slamming the door shut.

* * *

  
Will sighed. He hated relationship drama. He switched on his phone which he had switched off for concentration purposes. Just as he had expected. A missed call and two messages from Jason.

  
[Jason] 4:03: Is he home?

  
[Jason] 4:25: text me when he reaches home.

  
[Will] 6:14: hes home and he's pissed. what happened?

  
[Jason] 6:16: Long story short. He hates my family my family hates him. and both hate backing down.

  
[Will] 6:16: well your parents aren't exactly the definition of pleasant. you guys broke up?

  
[Jason] 6:17: i don't know. Need to talk to him at least. I'm not sure whether it will work out tho.

  
[Will] 6:17: why? im sure it's not that bad.

  
[Jason] 6:18 we've been fighting a long time. I just don't know.

  
[Will] 6:18: im sorry man.

  
[Jason] 6:18: me too. he's a good man

Will settled on the couch with a bag of crisps and went through his notes. It was still raining when Nico walked back into the living room. His hair was still damp, sticking in all places, he had changed into his pajamas. He had mellowed down quite a bit and shot Will a sheepish glance before making his way towards the couch.

  
"I'm sorry. For earlier. I was not mad at you." He stood at the edge of the couch

  
"I did detect a bit of misdirected anger." Will smiled at him. "It's ok Nico, we all have those days. I made you some tuna sandwiches. They're in the fridge."

  
"Um thanks..Will".

  
" No problem"

  
Nico settled beside him silently munching on his tuna sandwich much like the first morning they had spent as roommates. It felt like deja vu.

  
"Wanna talk about it?" Will asked quietly skimming his notes and highlighting an important point. "I promise I won't blab to Jason" he added as an afterthought adjusting his glasses.

  
Nico chuckled. "I'm not worried about that anymore."

  
He continued devouring a second sandwich. He must have been really hungry.

  
"It was conflict of interest I guess. Thalia was fine. His aunt too. His dad is a cheating douche. Forgive me for pointing that out when he went all feral on me."

  
"Yikes"

  
"Yep."

  
"Don't mince your words do you." He glanced at Nico from the corner of his eyes. His dark brown eyes were trained on the wall straight ahead of him, his cheeks flushed from the warm shower he had just taken. He didn't seem sad, just thoughtful. He wondered whether Jason was right about their relationship not being serious.

  
"Never" he said. "Has cost me a lot. But it's worth it. I have no regrets that way."

  
Will agreed with that. But he never had the courage to carry out his life that way. No doubt he stood up for himself when needed. But he avoided conflict as much as he could. Nico was silent for a moment but continued soon enough.

  
"You know the worst part was Jason's diplomacy. He didn't take a stand. He remained neutral. I hate that about him. There's a place and time for being diplomatic. That was not it."

  
Will nodded. "So are you going to talk to him."

  
"Not much to talk about. But yeah, I don't want to end it this way I guess." He buried his face in the adjacent pillow.

  
"There there" he patted Nico's fluffy black hair. He reminded Will of his pet cat Tabitha with his dark glinting eyes and his anti-social ways.

  
"I will not hesitate to smack you in your face." he said his face still buried in the pillow.

  
"Ok Ok grumpy"  
He retracted his hands and got back to his notes.

  
He peeked at Will from over the pillow again violently reminding Will of his cat.

  
"Hey Will?"

  
"Yeah?"

  
"Thanks for listening." He got up and made his way to his room.

  
"What are roommates for?"

  
"I thought we were friends." He said one hand on the door, giving Will that handsome smirk of his.

  
"I thought that was understood."

  
He smiled for the first time since he had stormed in this evening. He had a dimple on his left cheek.

  
"Goodnight Will"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part is based on a real story. Sorry for the short chap. I will update every week. At least Ill try.  
> I love kudos and comments. So more of those please. :)


	4. Ignorance is bliss

Will had been told many a times about his _'Achille's's heel'_. His _'fatal flaw'_ as his mom had said jokingly.

He thought too much.

  
He liked to find meaning in the small everyday happenings of life. He liked looking for metaphors in the simple no things people did. It gave him the power to find an order, a sequence, in the random coincidences that occurred around him.

Some would call that poetry. Some choose to call it an effective formula for unhappiness.

  
Ignorance is bliss Michael had said. It had been the one time he had broken down. That one time the weight of what was about to happen had been too much for him to handle. He was just a child.  
What he had said would stick to the inside of Will's skin till the day he died.

"I wish you had never told me the condition I was diagnosed with! I wish you had never told me that I was about to fucking die! It would be easier Mom!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Don't you get it! Why couldn't you have let me lived what days I had left in fucking peace! How could you be so selfish?"

  
His mother had just stood by the bleak hospital window silent tears streaming down her face.

  
"It's not mom's fault Mike. We don't know whether..She thought you would want to know." Will intervened his voice too low, too broken.

  
He couldn't even recognized his own voice anymore.

  
Michael turned to glare at Will, looking intimidating despite the pale skin, the bags under his now dull green eyes and the tubes sticking out of his skinny, spent body.

  
"Well I don't! I fucking don't! It's not fair. You get to live. Don't stand there and tell me what to do when you get the privilege to live and I don't." His eyes gleamed with a desperate kind of anger Will had never seen before. It unnerved him.

  
Michael collapsed on his pillow from the sitting position he had taken up. He was panting, the outburst finally taking a toll on his weakened body. He pressed his palms to his eyes, hiding his face.

  
"Shit I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Any of it. I'm so sorry. I just feel so bitter. I- "

  
He paused taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry mom, Will. I'm so sorry."

  
"Michael. Y-you're going to make it. You can't give in now. You j-just can't." Will was crying too, his words coming out in choked sobs.

He rubbed his eyes and his sniffling nose ashamed of his tears, when Michael's eyes were dry. He was not the one dying.

  
They sat reassuring him that evening, that he would be fine even though the words felt left a bitter taste in his mouth. His mom even managed to convince the doctor to lie to him, tell him that his vital signs were improving and that there was hope even if there wasn't any.

  
The lies felt like a twist of his intestines and a burn in his throat but the smile on Michael's face was more soothing a salve there was.

That was when the innocent quote Michael had once uttered ,oblivious to his own fate, had ingrained itself into Will's skin itself.

* * *

So when Jason told Will the next day that he wanted Nico back, he wondered whether it would be wise to tell him that Nico didn't feel the same. He considered his options. He could tell Jason, break his heart, but maybe help ready him for the situation. Or he could not tell him and keep him happy. That was until Nico dropped the bomb himself, so not exactly a spectacular plan as such. But he figured it was none of his business so it best bet was to stay detached so he simply reassured him

Jason avoided Nico straight up for a week after that.

  
"I thought you wanted him back Jace. What exactly are you achieving by avoiding him." Will asked as his character tried to beat Leo's lead on the screen.

It had become a normal thing for them to meet up at Jason and Leo's dorm for video games. And since it was the last weekend before classes started, they were taking full advantage of it.

  
"And if I hadn't mentioned it before." Leo started, swearing as he hit a snag. He turned to Jason. "I told you so"

  
"Shut the fuck up. Both of you. You're distracting me." Jason retorted.

  
"Ok that's it. It's time for papa Leo to set things straight" Leo declared. He stood up and pulled out the plug from the socket and the screen turned black. Both Will and Jason swore at him.

  
"Language. That is not how you talk to your daddy."

  
"Never say that again"

  
"I second that"

  
He puffed out his chest and pointed a finger at Jason.

  
"You are a wuss"

  
Jason opened his mouth to protest but Leo cut him off.

  
"No. I understand that you messed up demanding commitment from him too soon. Not one word Jason. You did. Accept your fault."

  
Leo refused to let Jason speak and continued. Will was already afraid of papa Leo.

  
"But Nico's not free from fault either. He picked up a fight with your dad. And then he walked off. Rude. But from what I heard you didn't side with him. It must have driven him off the edge, after all he was in a room full of strangers. So his fault is kinda justified-"

  
"Your point Leo" Jason gritted out. "I know I messed up ok. And I know it's over. I'm just-" he ran his hand through his hair messing up his quiff. This was hard for him to say.

  
"I'm just scared to..you know.. make it official."

  
"Jason you have to apologise. But he must too. It takes two to tango." Will said. "Best case scenario you guys get back together. Worst case scenario he kills you with a machete."

  
Jason looked at Leo in exasperation .

  
"He's right" Leo said and they both high fived over Jason's annoyed face.

Jason took a deep breath. "I suppose you are right. What's the worst that could happen. Maybe I should move on." He mumbled the last part.

"Just try Jace. Speculate later." Will said patting him on his back.

  
"Thanks guys." He stood up, checked his hair in the reflection of the TV screen and ran out before he lost his new found courage.

"See the effect papa Leo has?" Leo said collapsing next to Will, or you could say more or less on his lap. Will shoved him away and grabbed the controller he had ditched earlier.

  
"Mario Kart Showdown?"

  
"Our friend is out there fighting a battle with the legendary Ghost King and you want to play Mario Kart?" He said a slow grin making its way on his face.

"Let's do it."

* * *

  
If Will were to be dramatic he would say Jason came back a broken man. and then he would play a lyre in the background and wane poetry about heartbreak and tragedy. But he was not, so that saved his surroundings the pain.

Jason seemed fine if a little sad and forlorn as would anybody be after a breakup regardless of the seriousness of the feelings involved.

Humans were social animals. They were hard-wired to bask in acceptance and cherish love. A 'break-up'' however mutual always felt like rejection. It felt like 'you weren't enough'.

And humans were afraid of rejection. Will couldn't speak for all but for those he could, he would justify it as instinct of a social beast.

The three shared a look taking in the message that Jason most certainly did not want to talk about it. Leo simply offered Jason back his controller. The look on his face was that of gratitude.

No one understood Jason the way Leo did. Those two and a girl named Piper used to be inseparable during high school. In fact Jason and Piper dated for a while back then. Piper had moved to New York to pursue law resulting in the break up. They still stayed in touch, Will not as much as the other two.

His friends circle during high school included Cecil Jones and his cousins Kayla and Austin.

  
"Isn't ice cream what you have as comfort food after a break up?" Leo whispered to Will as they resumed their video gaming, the loud noise effectively blocking out what they were saying from Jason's ears, who was on the floor of the couch.

  
"I think so. Do you have some by any chance?"

  
Leo gave him a look that said _'of fucking course we have ice cream_ '. Strawberry he mouthed. Will made a face.

  
"I think you should buy some before heading back" he whispered.

  
That was exactly what Will had been thinking. But was Nico really the type to drown his sorrows in ice cream. Doesn't hurt to try he thought. If Nico wasn't keen on the comfort food plan, Will would get all the ice cream (because Frank was lactose intolerant, not because he was a selfish jerk. Had to clear that up). So win win situation.

* * *

 

After bidding Jason and Leo goodnight Will headed to the grocery store cum pharmacy that was open 24/7 on the campus. He picked up vanilla because vanilla was the best. He would fight anyone on that.

"Vanilla? Are you serious?"

  
He spun around ready to do the said fighting, to find Nico standing behind him in a dark blue v neck under his leather jacket, his hands in his pocket, his expression guarded.

  
"What are you doing here? I thought you were at..Leo's " he said with a little pause, promptly avoiding saying Jason's name.

  
"I was heading back actually." He said trying to read Nico's expression.  

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine" he grunted. "Let's go."

  
Will followed Nico down the aisle. He understood why Nico didn't want to talk to him about Jason. Mainly because he was friends with Jason. But Will wanted to befriend Nico too.

He wished those two hadn't been dating. Things were going to be so awkward since they practically lived two floors from each other.

They reached the billing area and Will immediately noticed the Pringle stand in the side.

There were many an important topic that Will's mind needed to deal with. Like, coping with loss without breaking down, college in two days, his vast portion, how to maintain a friendship with both Jason and Nico without making it awkward, all of which he ditched in favour of choosing between the cheddar cheese flavoured Pringles and the sour cream ones.

Because, priorities.

  
Both Nico and the wispy looking Cashier (who's name tag said ' _grover- save the trees!_ ') were looking at him strangely. Maybe trying to choose a Pringles flavour for five minutes straight didn't scream sane. _Well sue me_.

  
Nico snatched both the flavours that Will had been observing with delicate scrutiny right out of his hands and shoved them along with the groceries he had brought towards the cashier who twitched nervously.

  
" _Hey!-_ "

  
Nico glared at Will. Will gave Grover the ice cream for billing.

  
"You are such a child" Nico said looking considerably more calmer. He looked more amused than mad.

  
"Pringle flavours are important. You are such a tyrant."

  
He could feel Nico rolling his eyes at him.

"Here help me with the groceries. You should know that we take turns every month when we run out of food. Next month it's your turn."

  
"That's a good system." Will said relieving Nico of half the load.

  
Nico shrugged "Simple one."

  
They talked about the new semester, Frank's new archery lessons, and their majors. Anything but the elephant in the room. But banter with Nico do Angelo felt natural, so Will went along with it.

  
Nico pointed a long finger to the ice cream in Will's other hand.

  
"Been having cravings?" He said smirking that handsome smirk of his.

  
"Oh this is not for me. It's for you." An hour later Will would look back at this moment and conclude that perhaps that was not the wisest thing he had ever said pertaining to the circumstances. But for now he stayed oblivious to the danger that was now narrowing it's dark eyes at him.

  
"Me?" He said slowly.

  
"Ice cream is comfort food Nico." He said carefully finally reading the atmosphere.  
"Ah..I-"

  
"Did Jason put you up to this?" He said an irritated expression on his face.

  
"What? No!" Will said, at once defensive. "Leo had some, for Jason. So I thought.."

  
"I don't need to be comforted." He gritted out.

 _And that's fine_ was what Will should have said. He should have grinned, brushed it off and made a joke about how he got all the ice cream but he had been on the edge the whole day and the scale just tipped. So much for avoiding conflict.

"I don't get you. Its just ice cream. You really don't have to blow it out of proportion."

"How about you don't butt your head into other people's business?" Nico had stopped walking and was facing him, his eyes ablaze.

  
There had been many occasions where Will could have done the good deed, helped a person or two, but he didn't do so because he was scared that they would reject his help. He only helped when the he deemed the situation as one which wouldn't backfire or if it was life threatening.

So when Nico put it that way, it felt like a slap to his face. It felt like he was being alienated. _This is none of your business Will. You are not a part of this life. You don't belong here._

  
"Excuse me?" He blistered. "What is your goddam problem Nico? I'm just trying to help. I'm trying to be your friend. If you would get your head out of that brooding cloud of yours for once-"

"That's enough Will." He growled, his voice very very low. He snatched the grocery bag Will had been helping him with.

  
"I don't need your pity." He hissed stalking off. He hadn't been offering Nico any.

They had reached the dorms. Will silently made his way up, fuming beneath his calm exterior.

Frank eyed him nervously when he entered and offered him a small smile Will only just returned.He shoved the ice cream in the freezer and locked himself in his room for the remainder of the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so bad for breaking them up I don't know why because I had obviously planned this. I'm starting to really love jasico.   
> Comments and kudos are more than welcome. ^^


	5. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: casual mentions of boobs and ass

Will's tiff with Nico had him feeling miserable the entire week. The lack of confrontation didn't do anything to quell the awkwardness that had now wedged a wall between them.

Frank played the role of the sweet mediator each time they were forced to interact, which since they lived together was inevitable. But it had become fairly easy for the two to avoid each other in the wake of their new college semester. Classes took up most of their time. And after class library study sessions for him and Kayla had become a very common thing.

They were joined by Kayla's roommate Lou Ellen who was majoring in Ayurvedic medicine. Lou Ellen was an oddly interesting person. Turns out she and Kayla had bonded over their shared interest in hairexperimentation, her own brown hair in a messy undercut.

She also seemed fangirlish over ancient magic and voodoo procedures that Kayla had mentioned so casually one would think of it as normal.

"What, that's bullshit."

  
"Watch your mouth Solace. I'll voodoo your ass off."

  
She had then proceeded to give Will and Kayla a detailed description on a weird voodoo revenge spell using rose water, blood (your own, thankfully) and mind control.

  
"Very effective I tell you. Don't forget to meditate for ten minutes before the procedure."

  
"Of course"

  
Kayla had covered her mouth and was giggling slightly. What she saw in Lou was a mystery to Will.

  
"And then all you have to do is use the following chant." She took a deep breath and continued in her most deep and mysterious voice that had Will rolling his eyes and Kayla in another fit of suppressed giggles.

  
"Bloody, bloody, bloody  
You're not my buddy-"

  
Will gawked at Kayla and mouthed 'what the fuck'. Kayla smiled at him brightly and shrugged. 'I like her' she mouthed back. Will stared at her in disbelief.

  
"It's time to say goodbye  
Now you're going to dieeee"

  
And then she started laughing the maniacal 'I am the villain' cliche laugh. Kayla now seemed to be cackling at the expression on Will's face instead of worrying about the sanity of her dorm mate.

  
"Um Lou are you sure you're OK?"

  
She stopped laughing to stare him dead in the eye.

  
"Yeah of course. Why would you think otherwise."

  
"No reason" Kayla interrupted. "So that's all? That's quite a small chant isnt it?"

  
As Lou turned her attention to Kayla, Will went over his mental assessment of Lou Ellen, the girl his sister had chosen as her friend. Over all she seemed like a nice girl if you ignored her avid fascination with fairly grotesque killing techniques that had Will concerned over his sister's safety and mind you, his own. But to be fair voodoo was not all that crazy if you went went on a thorough study. They was a good lot of detailed studies on herbs and medicinal potions. That must have been where Lou must have picked up her interest in Ayurveda.

  
Their study session went smoothly after that with no more interruptions offered by Lou in the form of revenge and/or fertility spells.

  
"Please be careful. I worry for your safety" Will whispered to Kayla, who elbowed him.

  
"Don't be an idiot. She's really nice Will."

  
He checked whether Lou Ellen had returned from returning the books she had issued from the library. The coast was clear.

  
"I'm sure she is. Check under the bed for hex bags ok? I used to watch supernatural. I know my shit." He hissed when Kayla stomped his foot with her own. He kicked her shin in retaliation.  
Lou Ellen had made her way to them eyeing the both of them as if they were crazy ones.

  
It didn't take long for Kayla and Lou to get into a very lively conversation over magic and dragons and Vikings and what not, complete with exaggerated hand movements, one of which barely missed Will's nose. Will for one didn't take part in their lively banter instead choosing to revel in the comfort of his own silence, but mainly because the most he knew about magic was Harry Potter. He was surprised that she wasn't a History major with all that she knew. It had rained the other day and the grass was glistening. Will had been worried about whether or not Kayla would settle in properly, but here he was, staring on at the two girls chatter away a feeling of rejection festering deep in the pits of his stomach.

_You don't belong here either._

  
"-will you join us?"

  
Will's brain had registered only the second half of the question and yet the answer was already in the tip of his tongue.

  
"I'm sorry guys. Another time?" He could feel Kayla's eyes train on him. Even Lou seemed a bit disappointed. Kayla had told Will that people generally avoided Lou because they thought she was weird. Kayla must be Lou's first friend. After all she was new here too.

  
"How about we have some ice cream after tomorrow's session? My treat." Lou brightened up instantly but Kayla was still staring at him. He told them that he needed to head into the city to buy a new charger for his phone, which was true. He had broken the wire and had been using Frank's all week long.

  
"Will we're new to the city. Are you sure-"

  
"It'll be fine Kayla" he interrupted. She was worried he would get lost. After all Will had a shitty sense of direction to which Kayla and Austin were first hand witnesses.

He shooed the girls away despite Kayla's protest and headed out of campus.

* * *

 

He was so lost.

  
He had managed to find his way to the electronics store in spite of Leo's vague directions, but it was seemingly impossible to navigate through the narrow lanes without going around in circles. Will had asked for directions from an old man and short middle aged woman but he didn't understand the old mans blabber or the woman's _' short cut path from the back alley'_.

Frankly speaking he was a little terrified to go anywhere near the shady back alleys. He was not a fan of getting mugged. Or murdered for that matter.

Will checked his watch. Dr. Apollo's class was in half an hour. He really didn't want to miss it, but it was in one of those 'fuck it' moments that he decided he would rather enjoy the contrast of the warm sun and the cool breeze on his skin. The streets were crowded, filled with people and Will found himself drowning in the bustle of the crowd.

He suddenly had a terrifying epiphany as he took his time to observe every individual he crossed. These were lives. Each and every single of these hundreds of people had their own lives. Their own stories.  
Perhaps the dark skinned woman who had been hurrying her way a couple of blocks back had been late to a meeting. Or maybe she was meeting with a childhood friend after ten long busy years. Perhaps she had lost her mother or a sibling at a young age. Or maybe all her loved ones were intact and by her side. The dark twists of her hair reminded Will of Austin.

  
Perhaps the short man buying ice cream from a small Ben and Jerry's outlet around the corner was in love with someone who would never love him back. Or perhaps he was happily married and content with his life. The ginger of his hair reminded Will of Kayla.

He made his way to the nearest park he had spotted on his way here. The air had turned dark in a matter of minutes with large black clouds churning electricity into the atmosphere. There was a storm in the sky and a storm in his heart.

  
Regardless Will entered the park. There was no one around and those who were seemed to be getting ready to leave. There was a pale skin man in a bomber jacket sitting on a bench on the far side of the park with a book in hand. _Who the hell would still be here with the promise of a storm in the sky_ thought will and then laughed at the hypocrisy of his own question. The man turned a bit so Will could get a better look at his face. He smiled at something he had just read. The dimple on his left cheek reminded Will of Nico.

  
Will froze. He had half a mind take a complete one eighty and leave but the other half of his mind told him that he should confront the man. They hadn't spoken properly in over a week. Some things just weren't meant to be salvaged. His mother would have called him a coward . _There's nothing in the world that cannot be saved unless you try_. But that didn't mater anymore since Nico's dark eyes had already met his own. Sometimes when you refrained from making a choice, something else makes the choice for you. Will wouldn't know. He was never one for believing in fate.

  
"Will.." shock registered on his features before he schooled his face into a neutral expression.

  
"Hey"  Will said feeling extremely nervous. He didn't know why though. He hadn't been the one at fault. Even though Will felt quite jumpy he was sure his expression was just as neutral as Nico's. He knew very well how to keep his emotions in check, at least the one's on his face. He hadn't even cried at his own brother's funeral. He hadn't cried since Michael had died.

  
"What are you doing here?" The tone was curious not rude Will noted.

  
"I got lost."

Nico arched an eyebrow as if waiting for an explanation. Will suddenly wanted to yell at him. Tell him that he didn't owe him an explanation. But he needed to get back to the dorm. So he decided against it.

  
"I needed to get a new charger for my phone. I'm still not particularly familiar with the area.." he said twirling his finger in indication.

  
Nico nodded his expression giving nothing away. Will wasn't exactly an open book when it came to facial expressions so he tried not to get annoyed. Thunder rumbled through the sky.  
"It about time we got back then, isn't it?" Nico said tucking the book in the inside of his jacket. Will wasn't sure whether Nico expected a response from him or if he even wanted to give Nico a response. Nevertheless he followed Nico out of the park and through the confusing twists and turns of the lanes.

  
"Shit. That was the turn I should have taken." He exclaimed trying to catch up with Nico's stride.

  
Nico hummed in assent.

Will felt a raindrop splosh on the tip of his nose. In the time it took for him to look up at the sky, it had begun to pour.

They quickly made their way to the nearest café that had a weird Greek name Will couldn't read. Five minutes in and they realized that they couldn't awkwardly sit in the café without actually ordering something. The waitress kept stalking them until they were forced to order two Cappuccino's. They sat in silence until Nico finally spoke.

  
"I owe you an apology."

Will had been looking at the raindrops on the window. Tracing their paths down the cold glass. He snapped out of it momentarily to glance at Nico. A drop of rain fell from his damp hair, along the side of his cheek and neck, disappearing into his shirt. Nico shivered and when Will's eyes met Nico's dark one's he was flushed. Will hadn't intended to stare. He blushed silently and allowed Nico to continue.

  
"I over reacted. You were looking out for me and I thanked you by behaving like a total dick. I'm sorry."

  
"No you were right. It really wasn't any of my business Nico" Will said calmly. Nico seemed unusually flustered at Will's lack of emotion.

  
"No- that's.." he sighed. "I didn't mean it. I just- I don't know..felt vulnerable I guess. We are friends. You are my friend Will. And I'm so so sorry for the way I acted."

  
Nico seemed to be waiting for Will to deny any sort of friendship between them. For him to walk off. In a matter of seconds Will felt his anger dissolve.

  
"Its fine. Really. I'm sorry too. For pushing." Will smiled at him. The tension in his shoulders diffused. Nico seemed a lot more relaxed after that.

  
"I sorted things out with Jason. We can be friends somewhere in the future." He stopped to thank the waitress for their orders. "We work better as friends I think."

  
"Bromance better than romance eh?" He said laughing at his own joke.

  
"I cannot believe you just said that."

  
And then he was laughing too. Nico had a beautiful laugh. Deep and resonant and free. Will wanted to hear Nico laugh more often.

  
By the time Nico had finished his coffee it had stopped pouring but Will was already half an hour late for his class. And he hadn't even finished his own cup yet. Nico had been ranting about the attack points on the Dionysius card from the Mythomagic card game Will had loved as a kid. Turns out Frank was a closet Mythomagic nerd too.

  
"How the hell did you get the Africanus expansion pack? It's so rare."

  
"I know right." Nico was practically glowing with pride. He checked his watch. "Will, don't you have a class?"

"Ah don't worry about it. I was already late when it stopped raining. I'll have Kayla hand me the notes. Shall we head out?"

  
They made their way out onto the cobbled stone of the lane.

  
"So slow" Nico teased. Will crinkled his nose. "Told you. I don't really like coffee that much." He quickly chugged what was remaining of his cappuccino and threw the cup in the dustbin outside the cafe.  
He turned back to face Nico who looked like he was barely suppressing a grin.

  
"What? What is it?"

  
"Nothing" Nico smiled devilishly. Will eyed him suspiciously. "Did you know that Frank managed to get _Uncharted 4_ for us?" He said effectively cutting off all line of thought.

 _"Really?_ When? How?"

"He's into some shady drug business. Don't ask me"

"You honestly expect me to believe that."

If someone had told him two weeks ago that he would spend fifteen minutes arguing with Nico di Angelo about Frank Zhang's innocence he would never have believed them.  
He managed to step into a sum total of two puddles on their way back to campus while Nico gracefully avoided all of them. Life was not fair.

"Honestly Leo could pull that shit off too." Nico said.

  
Will scoffed. "He would try and get _Bayonetta 2_ before anything else."

  
Nico stared at him.  
"That is like the straightest game ever made. Not a huge fan of it."

  
"Me neither" Will said and then froze. He knew that Nico was gay or bi in the least and so _obviously_ there woudnt be an issue. But it was the reflex in his blood that forced him to stop, gauge the person's reaction and wait for the attack.

  
"Not a huge fan of the game? Or the boobs and ass?" Nico smiled as he entered the elevator. He must have sensed Will's panic. "Relax Will. I can't be both gay _and_ homophobic" he said rolling his eyes.

  
"Not a big fan of the boobs. Can't say the same about ass though." Will quickly recovered and followed Nico into the elevator.

  
Nico actually chortled all the way up to the third floor.  
"I swear to god" he said rubbing the tears out of his eyes. Will pushed him playfully and he began to giggle once again. "Me too Will. Me too."

  
"At least you're better than Leo." Will groaned at the memory. "He made dick jokes for an entire week."

  
"Leo's a piece of shit."

  
"A nice piece of shit." Will corrected.

  
Nico smiled.

  
Frank seemed exceptionally happy that they had sorted out their differences. He woudn't need to awkwardly bridge the divide anymore. Although he seemed fairly confused about the creamy mustache Will was sporting.

  
"Is it a new fashion statement."

  
"Nico!"

  
The only response he got was muffled laughter from behind the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i legit googled voodoo chants and thats the first thing that came up. take it up with google. also nico's gamer name is ghost king. he kicks everybody's ass.


	6. Parties and Relevations

Ninety nine point nine percent of our genome is exactly identical to each human on this planet. This particular line in his _Genetics Volume one for Biology_ always irked him.

Theoretically scientists justified that only point one percent of the genome constituted all the variations present in every individual. That only point one percent determined whether one will have crooked teeth or straight shiny ones. Blue eyes or grey. Black hair or blonde. That all of us are unequivocally the same save for that _point one percent_. That most differences that existed were the ones that we created.

  
Will didn't digress. But he knew that facts never covered the whole story and nothing was ever as idealistic as his _Genetics Volume One for Biology._ The world was not black and white. But point one percent would never seem worth all the war that waged on in the borders. His uncle Lee Fletcher had served in the army. He made it back alive to his son Austin. Thirty thousand one hundred and twenty two didn't that year.

Even he didn't seem think that the bomb that took his partner Mark's life was worth it. After all they were fighting a war that was never theirs.

  
Gene mapping could tell you the entire story of a person save for the information genes can't predict like a car accident or murder. It could predict the exact stage at which a person could start showing signs of Huntington's or Alzeihmer's or start growing tumors. Genes were tiny microscopic ticking bombs that simmered under one's skin. They were like the fates, evaluating and ajudicating, taking and giving life at will.

When he learned this he also learned that it was that point one percent difference in their genes that had taken his brother's life.  
Will didn't believe in a god. He never had. He never would.

* * *

 

Will along with Kayla and Lou had taken refuge in his dorm room that afternoon. Their books were splayed out in a haphazard manner, their pens running on sheets and sheets of paper, wildly taking down notes.

Kayla along with Lou had made her way down to Will's dorm demanding for him to introduce her to his room mates. Frank had spoiled them over a plate of his chocolate chip cookies and Kayla had fallen in love.

  
"He has a girlfriend, who just happens to be Nico's sister." Will hissed, successfully wiping the dreamy look off her face with a violent nudge of his foot.

  
She blushed.

  
"Will! I would _never_!" She said indignantly. Will snorted. She glared at him.

  
"I'm just admiring the goods. That's not against the law now ,is it?" She said her hands up in defense. She placed them back under her chin a moment later with a dreamy sigh, no doubt checking out Frank Zhang's butt.

  
"You know I have a weakness for men you can cook"

  
"Oh? Are you admiring his cooking skills from here" Will he said. He made a show of following her gaze. "No that's his ass Kayla. Unless you think he shoves cookbooks up his-"  
Kayla kicked him.

  
"Shut the fuck up Will. You're getting on my nerves, geez. Let a girl live."

  
Lou seemed suspiciously sullen throughout all of this. Will rubbed his shin with a scowl on his face.

They had made plans to leave for the library at three, but by the time they were done gorging on Frank's cookies the sky had darkened and it had begun pouring.

  
Which brought them back to now. Jason and Leo had joined them soon after, because it was the weekend and "normal" college students dropped everything to drink and party according to Leo.

It had been a month since Jason and Nico had broken up and now they seemed to be working on a friendship. A very awkward one at that. Leo and Frank were on the floor getting their asses kicked at CoD by none other than the "Ghost King". Jason simply seemed to be smashing random keys on the controller just for the heck of it. Nico's face was scrunched up in concentration, his dark bangs falling over his eyes. Jason's gaze flitted over to him every now and then.

  
Will groaned when Leo made a loud noise and Nico yelled something in Italian. They were getting too loud and it was getting frustrating. After chastising them two more times Will gave up with a sigh.

  
Kayla was still hunched over her notes not a care in the world but Lou was glaring at Jason from across the room.

  
"He's an insult to the game."

  
"Um Lou.."

  
"I've had enough."

  
She stomped over and snatched the controller from a very confused Jason and gestured for him to get off the couch. He complied immidiately shooting Will a questioning look. Will shrugged.

  
Nico, Leo and Frank paid no attention to the new replacement in the group. Jason joined Will at the dining table.

  
"Hey man. How's it going"

  
"Terrible. I unlike Kayla can't really study with this noise."

  
Jason didn't even have the decency to look guilty. He shot him a grin.

  
"Never mind that. The Stoll's are holding a party at their place tomorrow."

The Stoll's didn't live on campus. They had lived here in Athens for years and conveniently close to the college. Commute was not a problem with the many buses provided by the college for this purpose. Many students opted for paying guests or renting their own flats, mostly for the freedom that came with having no campus authorities on your back. Even Will and Kayla had considered it but it would have been a hassle that with them being new to the town.

Will rolled his eyes at Jason's smile.

  
"No can do Jace."

  
"It'll be fun Will. What do you think Kayla?" He said glancing at Kayla.

"Huh?" She snapped out of her bubble. Jason repeated his question.

  
"Will there be drinks?" Kayla inquired. Jason nodded.

  
"Then why the hell not. Am I right Will?"

  
"No" Will said frowning " You're a light and you don't even like the taste."

  
"You're the one to talk. You're even worse than me."

  
He caught Nico grinning at him obviously thrilled with the additional embarrassing info Kayla kept providing him. The devil. Will ignored him.

  
"Runs in the family." He said giving Kayla a look.

  
She turned to Jason "I'm in. "

  
"Awesome. Make sure you bring Will." He said shaking hands with her as if they were sealing a business deal.

Will sighed. He was just too exhausted to follow their conversation, his gaze kept flitting to the raindrops on the window sill. Just like the day in the café with Nico.

He had learnt a lot about Nico and Frank the last week. Hell he had even skyped with Hazel Levesque along with Frank and Nico.

  
Frank was Canadian with a Chinese legacy. His mom, Emily Zhang had been a Captain in the army. She had died a hero in battle. His dad, Marcus Zhang was the Chief General of his legion. That's how they had met. She had been the one who had thought Frank archery. After Emily's death, Marcus, always kept being despatched to odd desolate areas. He seemed to crave the distraction. And so it had been Frank's grandmother who had raised him (and the one who taught him to cook the way he did, bless the woman).

  
And then there was Nico and his half sister Hazel. With Nico's pale skin, dark intense brown eyes, and jet black fluffy bat hair in contrast to Hazel's dark skin, bright golden eyes and tight brown curls it was inevitable that at first glance nobody could tell that they were related. But Will could see it. In fact ever since that day every time Nico smiled Will was violently reminded of Hazel who looked nothing like Nico and yet so much like him, in the strenght of her gaze, her sturdy chin, in the shape of her eyes, and her smile.

  
Nico's birthplace was Venice. He was Italian but contrary to popular belief he sucked at cooking, a trait he shared with Hazel. His father's name was Hayden Manella who was a well established business man in a small district of Southern Italy. Nico's mother Maria di Angelo had passed away during childbirth. Three years later Hayden had brought home Hazel Levesque from an affair he had had on one of his business trips to New Orleans. He had single handedly raised the two of them until his current wife Persephone Perris had come along.

  
He had known something was missing in the already complex story from the hitch in Nico's breath and Hazel's forced smile but he had pretended not to notice.

  
He hadn't even noticed when Nico slipped in a chair beside him.  
"So did you manage to convince this prude to join us." He said, addressing Jason.

  
"No" "Yes"

  
"I see."

  
"Done with the game?" Jason asked. Nico nodded smiling. Jason raised an eyebrow as if asking 'and..?'

  
"Well of course I won" he said a smug look plastered on his face. "But I nearly lost to that girl, your friend, Lou Ellen. Will what the hell? Why didn't you tell me that she is _Hectate222_? The _Hectate222_!"

  
"What?" He responded dumbly.

  
Nico groaned and rolled his eyes.

" _Hectate222_ is one of the best online players around. She's always close to beating my score. My competition. Never thought I would get to meet them. Small world."

  
Kayla chuckled good naturedly. "Full of surprises isn't she?"

He watched Leo gaze at her as if she were a goddess incarnate as she manuevoured through a tough route Leo had been trying to overcome for weeks.

Will couldn't disagree.

* * *

 

 How he found himself leading a beer chugging contest when only a day before he had very reluctantly agreed to come, he woudnt know.

Katie Gardener, a botany major , Lou Ellen and Connor Stoll drank off against each other while Will and Leo motivated the crowd to keep chanting their support. Leo was doing the macarena and Will was attempting to join him but failing miserably. He didn't care though. He was so _so_ _drunk_.

Nico was seated on the corner of the table Will and Leo were standing on. He had his back against the wall and was observing Will with an expression somewhere between disbelief and amusement.

Jason was in the crowd talking to the scary R.A Will had encountered when him and Kayla had arrived to her dorm. Will stumbled a bit trying to look for Frank and Kayla. He finally decided to flop down next to Nico when he started getting dizzy.

  
"Are you ok?" Nico asked, his voice slightly slurred, but overall he seemed steady enough. He had drunk almost just as much as Will, only difference was that Will could hold his alcohol down as well as a pre teen could.

  
"M'fine" mumbled resting his head against Nico's shoulder.

  
"No you aren't. Let's get you out for some fresh air." He muttered grabbing Will's arm and pulling him outside through the crowd of college students chanting a mixture of names Will couldn't distinguish between.

Once outside the blast of cool air reduced the stifling feeling he hadn't even felt building in his gut. At some point his fingers had entwined with Nico's and he was being led to a secluded spot behind the building which was covered by the long branches of the only weeping willow on the campus.

  
When they were settled down on the grass Nico smiled at him and Will felt his stomach lurch.

Nico di Angelo rarely smiled. His face was almost always twisted in a grumpy scowl. Will didn't think that a smile would sit right on a face that frowned so much. But looking at Nico's mouth curve up at the corners, the dimple on his cheek, he felt like he could drown in the warmth of that smile.

  
"Better?" He asked.

  
Will took a deep breath. His fogged brain only now seemed to be catching up with what was happening. He gave Nico a grateful smile and laid his head against his shoulder again. He probably woudnt have done that if he was sobre, but he wasn't so logic flew out of the window.

"So much better. Thanks"

  
He was surprised albeit pleasantly when strong steady hands wrapped around him and pulled him closer. He let him self loose in the heat of the touch.

  
Now that he was away from everyone he felt all the emotions he had been crushing, flowing out as if somebody had pulled the plug on the sink but in reverse. He felt volatile tonight and Nico felt like an anchor.

Whether it was just the warmth of a person or that the said person was Nico, he wouldn't know. He fit his head snugly under Nico's chin, which was a bit uncomfortable because they were almost the same height.

  
"Nico?"

  
"Hm"

  
"I'm not happy."

  
He could feel the boy tense above him, his grip loosening.  
"Do you want me to let go?" He inquired softly.

  
"No"

  
He felt petulant and angry and bitter. He felt like throwing a tantrum like a child.

  
"Why aren't you happy Will."

  
He didn't respond, shifting so that his face was settled in the crook of Nico's shoulder, his lips touching Nico's neck. It wasn't anything suggestive, Will wasn't thinking along those lines, infact he wasnt thinking at all.

  
"Will?"

 _Silence_.

  
"Do you want me let go?" He tried again.

  
"No"

  
Nico ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

After another moment of drowsy silence Will finally spoke.

  
"I lost my brother"

  
The first tear fell.

  
"Will-"

  
"He had cancer. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia to be precise." Will let out a bitter laugh.

"He was three years older to me. He died ten months back. His name was Michael. He was my brother. He was everything and now he's dead."

Will couldn't stop the tears. He broke down into drunk broken sobs. He felt exhausted. Emotionally. Physically. He seemed to be feeling that way a lot recently.

  
Nico slowly brushed away his tears whispering soft comforting words into his ear.

  
"I never cried". Will whispered.

"If you think I'm going to judge you.."

"Why am I crying" He had felt so hollow. So empty. His family had been worried about him. He had been so stoic for months surrounded by people who expected him to be sad, expected him to be weepy. He had unconsciously fought their expectations. He had buried and buried and buried until he felt like was choking under the weight of the burdens he had put on his own shoulders. After all Kayla went back to her own home at the end of the day as did Austin. But he was forced to stay in this house he had once called a home. In this house that had turned into a depressing nightmare he was forced to live everyday for ten months.

  
"Even at his funeral Nico. I didn't cry. I could feel all of them pitying us. Waiting for us to sob. Waiting for us to cry so that they could stare and pretend to feel "sorry" for our loss."

His tears were drying up slowly and his body was freezing involuntarily at the thought.

Nico cupped both his cheeks and banged his forehead with his own violently.

"I dont pity you!" He yelled as Will sputtered out curses.  
"Ow" Will winced as he gingerly touched his skull.  
"I'm sorry." Nico said softly placing his fingers just over the spot he had banged his head with. "For the...never mind. Do you really feel that way."

  
When Will opened his mouth Nico hushed him with his finger. They were really close right now their noses just a few inches away from each other's.

  
"Will they didn't pity you. Nobody pitied you. They were just sad for you. You must have felt defensive. I- um I get that ."

  
Will frowned. "Defensive. You don't -"

  
Nico interrupted him once again with a tch. He was frowning. His hands clenched in tight fists, his face turned up  look at the sky.

  
"I lost my sister when I was only ten and it was the worst fucking time of my life. Her name was Bianca di Angelo. She was our elder sister and because we never had a mother, Hazel and I looked up to her like she was our sun. Then Seph came along. And thank God she did , I think we put too much pressure on Bianca."

Nico smiled at the last thought. His hand brushed Will's once again.

"She was only thirteen when she passed in an plane crash that was supposed to bring her home from Grandma's. We had not gone with Dad because of our exams. Dad didn't accompany her because of some important business meet."

His grip on Will's fingers tightened.

"We had gone to pick her up, only we brought home her body."

Oh.

"I- we were mess after her death. Hazel and my family...well they were the only things that got me going. Family is important. I leant that the hard way." He glanced at Will warily for a moment.

  
"That's why you came so far to New Athens? You had other options close by right?"  
Nico's asked, his gaze strong against Will's

  
"Yes"

  
Nico sighed. "That's normal Will. It's ok. People die. The ones left behind mourn. Everyone has their own ways for dealing with their issues."

He met Will's gaze once again.

  
"I understand how you feel Will. You can talk to me. Whenever"

 _I understand how you feel_. Only this time, Will didn't feel like he was being fooled.

He nodded weakly in response. He felt like crying again. He knew this must have been difficult for Nico to share but he couldn't find his voice to express his gratitude yet.  
Nico laid down on the grass and gestured for Will to do the same.

  
"Do you recognize any of these constellations?" He asked his eyes bright and clear.

  
"Not really. But that's the _Pole star_ and that's the big bear, the _Orion_." He said pointed in the direction of a bright blue star and the constellation right below it.

  
"Third grade science bah"

Will pushed Nico with chuckle.

  
"Let's see you do any better _Ptolemy_ "  
Nico did do better. Much better. Ridiculously better.

  
"...And that one over there is the _Hunter_. Can you see it?"

  
"How the hell do you even know all this.?"

  
"Bianca loved astrology. Her dream was to become the most famous astrologer of the century. She used to drag us out on the roof every night and bug us with trivia and star gazing."

Will gazed at the man next to him. His smile was sad but Will could tell that the memory made him happy. He wondered whether he could ever come to the point where he could remember all the happy memories he had shared with Michael without it bringing up the worst.

Nico turned to look at him. Will blushed at the proximity but held Nico's gaze. He could feel Nico coming closer, his breathe hot on Will's face. But that could just have been a drunk man's imagination. Nico turned to look at the stars once again.

  
"Whenever you're ready... will you tell me about Michael?

  
Will smiled.

  
"Yes. Yes I will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes the generic hayden name for Hades' human version. Manella and Perris are greek-southern Italian last names. 2 is the number associated with hectate. At least that's what Google told me. and I'm not a huge fan of the caleo ship. so that probably won't be there or maybe who knows.

**Author's Note:**

> Puns. Puns everywhere. Also John cena is awesome. Tumblr @captainpiecemaker


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